This position is located in a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state, area, or field office. Provide assistance to the Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) assigned to the field office (FO) to work with landowners to apply and maintain conservation practices and review financial assistance requests under the provision of federal, state, and possibly local agriculture programs. A recruitment incentive is approved for $5,000 which will be paid out over a period of 3 years.

Duties

Assists in conducting field investigations, surveys, and assembly of data needed in the development of conservation practices for structural solutions to problems with water quality, erosion, drainage, and irrigation. Provides assistance with planning, design, layout, implementation, certification of conservation practices and oversees construction practices for which NRCS has technical responsibility. Gathers and compiles planning data on rural and/or urban sites, including physical features such as soil limitations, erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation for evaluation and development of natural resources conservation plans. Prepares basic natural resources conservation plans where soil survey information is available and precedent planning information is applicable to physical conditions such as topography and specific type of land unit.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit--Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.

Qualifications

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-4 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-5 level. One year at the GS-5 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-6 level. One year at the GS-6 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-7 level. One year at the GS-7 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-8 level. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted). Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year. See addition information. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying: GS-5: Must have one or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Assisting with preliminary engineering surveys by gathering design data for structures that require engineering applications; Providing information about conservation programs with rural landowners to inform them about the nature of the program; AND Meeting with landowners to review complete conservation plans. OR Must have successfully completed a full four-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 6 semester hours in mathematics is creditable. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) (You must submit transcripts.) OR Must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described in A and B above. You must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Determine total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required. Then determine education as a percentage of the education required. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. (You must submit transcripts.) GS-6: Must have one or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Assisting with preliminary engineering surveys by gathering design data for structures that require engineering applications; Providing information about conservation programs with rural landowners to inform them about the nature of the program; Meeting with landowners to review complete conservation plans; and Compiling data for conservation plans such as soil erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation. OR Must have at least a one year of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as soil and water conservation. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described in A and B above. You must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must submit transcripts.) GS-7: Must have one or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Assisting with tentative design plans by recording field notes and using standard designs for first drafts; Making presentations to external stakeholders on practice application to promote conservation plans; Meeting with landowners to review complete conservation plans; and Assisting staff to develop natural resource conservation plans by compiling data for physical features such as soil erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation. OR Must have at least a one year of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as soil and water conservation. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described in A and B above. You must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must submit transcripts.) GS-8: Must have one or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Assisting in conducting field investigations, surveys, and assembly of data needed in the development of conservation practices for structural solutions to problems with water quality, erosion, drainage, and irrigation; Inspecting proposed sites, determines need and feasibility of conservation practices applicable to the location; Compiling resource information, prepares maps, and interprets soil survey data for use in conservation planning; and Preparing basic Natural Resources Conservation Plans. OR Must have at least a two years of graduate level education or a master's degree in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as soil and water conservation. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described in A and B above. You must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must submit transcripts.) (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience.) IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Education

You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

Contacts

• Address Natural Resources Conservation Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Midwest Services Branch
• Phone: 8164265706
• Email: [email protected]